Selectively buffering voice data at a server during a voice communication session

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for selectively replaying voice data. Voice data received in a communication session is both buffered by the device and played by the device. When input is received from a recipient, the voice data currently being received is no longer played and buffered voice data is replayed to the recipient. While the buffered voice data is replayed, the device continues to buffer any voice data received by the device to ensure that the recipient can listen to all of the voice data in the communication session. By only storing voice data in the buffer, replaying the buffered voice data can catch the real-time voice data. At this point, the device reverts to playing voice data being received while continuing to buffer the voice data.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/781,806, filed Jul. 23, 2007 and entitled SELECTIVELY BUFFERING VOICEDATA AT A SERVER DURING A VOICE COMMUNICATION SESSION, which is adivisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/789,581, now U.S. Pat. No.7,809,388, filed Feb. 26, 2004 and entitled SELECTIVELY REPLAYING VOICEDATA DURING A VOICE COMMUNICATION SESSION, both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. The Field of the Invention

The invention relates to selectively replaying voice data during acommunication session. In particular, embodiments of the invention aredirected to selectively replaying voice data during network-basedinstant connect communication (also known as Push to Talk®) and duringconventional telephone communication.

2. The Relevant Technology

Mobile telephones are some of the most common communication devices inuse today. As the popularity of mobile telephones and othertelephony-enabled wireless devices such as personal digital assistantsincreases, the ways in which these devices are used also grows. Oneapplication of mobile telephone technology is to use mobile telephonesas if they were two-way radio devices or “walkie-talkies.” The abilityto use mobile telephones as walkie-talkies is often referred to as“push-to-talk”. Communication in a push-to-talk system can be one-to-oneor one-to-many. One example of a push-to-talk system is Nextel'siDEN-based Push to Talk® (also known as Direct Connect™) service.

Push-to-talk systems may be implemented using standard Voice OverInternet Protocol (VoIP) technologies or other technologies, where voicedata is sent in digital form over data networks. Such push-to-talksystems are hereinafter referred to as “network-based instant connectsystems”, and they can be deployed in various networks, includingcircuit-switched networks and packet data networks, and may use anycombination of wireless and wireline devices.

Network-based instant connect communication allows a sender to speak toa recipient without the customary procedure of dialing a telephonenumber and waiting for the recipient to answer. Network-based instantconnect communication services combine the convenience ofnear-instantaneous connection between users with the range and securityafforded by a network. Once an instant connect session is establishedover the network, the voice data transmitted from a sender is played onthe recipient's device without any action on the part of the recipient.This is in contrast to a regular telephone call where the recipient isrequired to manually respond to a ringing telephone.

Because network-based instant connect calls are designed to mimicwalkie-talkie communication, the communication channel is used in ahalf-duplex manner, meaning that voice data can only flow in onedirection at a time. The ability to transmit voice data is oftenreferred to as “having the floor”. In a network-based instant connectcommunication, the sender typically sends a floor request signal to aserver in the network by pressing the talk button on a suitably enabledwireless device. Once the floor is granted, the sender may speak to therecipient until the talk button is released. The recipient of the voicedata who does not have the floor can merely receive the voice data andcannot take the floor until the sender relinquishes the floor.

As noted above, one general feature of network-based instant connectcommunications is that, if the recipient's device is powered on and isin a mode to accept incoming calls, any incoming network-based instantconnect calls result in the recipient's device automatically outputtingvoice data. The recipient of an instant connect call does not typicallycontrol when the instant connect call is received and there may besituations when the recipient does not understand or cannot clearly hearwhat the sender said.

The inability to understand a sender in an instant connect call canoccur, for example, when the recipient is in a noisy environment.Construction sites, restaurants, and traffic are examples ofenvironments where a recipient of an instant connect call may be unableto understand the sender. The inability to understand a sender can alsooccur when the voice data is incomplete. During instant connectcommunication, voice data is often sent over an IP network using aconnectionless protocol that does not guarantee delivery of the packetsthat are sent. The recipient's device plays the packets that arereceived, but when packets are dropped the played voice data may be verydifficult to understand, and depending on how many packets are dropped,may include periods of silence when the speaker cannot be heard at all.When voice data is not understood, the recipient may have to wait toobtain the floor and then request that the sender repeat himself orherself.

Additionally, a recipient who is in a noisy environment or who ispreoccupied with another activity may not hear an incoming network-basedinstant connect call at all and may never know that a sender attemptedto reach him or her. Missing an instant connect call altogether couldhave negative consequences for both personal and business relatedmatters.

The problem of packet loss during voice communication is not exclusiveto half-duplex communication; indeed, the problem applies to full-duplexvoice sessions in which voice data can be carried both directionssimultaneously on a single channel, such as a wireless or wirelinetelephone call. During a full-duplex call occurring over an IP network,packet loss may occur resulting in the same poor user experiencepreviously described. In this situation, while it is easier for arecipient to ask the speaker to repeat him or herself, there aresituations where it may disrupt communication or be otherwiseundesirable to do so.

SUMMARY

These and other limitations of conventional voice communication areovercome by embodiments of the invention, which are directed tobuffering voice data and selectively replaying the buffered voice dataduring or after voice communication sessions. While the invention isparticularly useful in conjunction with network-based instant connectcalls, the invention is not limited to this communication mode and maybe applied to other voice communication modes such as conventional,full-duplex voice communication and to voice communication using devicesthat operate using radio frequency (RF) communication techniques.

In the exemplary embodiment, wherein the sender and one or morerecipients are engaged in a network-based instant connect call, voicedata received by a recipient's device is both played by the recipient'sdevice and buffered by the device in a voice data buffer. When therecipient depresses a replay button, the device stops playing the voicedata being received and begins playing voice data from the buffer. Asvoice data is being played from the buffer, the device continues tobuffer any additional voice data that may be received by the device.This ensures that the recipient is able to listen to all of the voicedata that is received by the device even though the voice data is beingselectively replayed.

As the voice data is buffered, silences between senders are notbuffered. In addition, voice data of the recipient is not buffered. Thispermits the voice data of the sender(s) to be stored sequentially in thebuffer and the buffered voice data can therefore be replayed faster thanit occurred in “real-time.” It should be noted that references to“real-time” voice data refer to voice data that is being received by thedevice during the communication session, and which is then buffered. Theuse of the term “real-time” voice data is for convenience only andshould not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. For thepurposes herein, “real-time” voice data may be played on the deviceafter some type of delay due to network conditions or other conditions.As a result, replaying the buffered voice data will catch up with thereal-time or near real-time voice data being received by the device. Atthis point, the device typically reverts to playing the voice data beingreceived while buffering the voice data at the same time.

The buffer can be accessed, for example, in time increments or in senderincrements. In time increments, the buffer is accessed at time periodsor intervals that are pre-determined. The recipient can access thebuffer in successive increments in this manner. Another method ofnavigating forward in time can be provided in some embodiments. This mayconsist of a second button that skips ahead one phrase (to the nextsilence, to the first unheard audio, or to real-time). Skipping toreal-time can also occur if the listener begins to talk, or requests thefloor. When the buffer is accessed in sender increments, the buffer isaccessed at locations where a particular statement of a sender begins.One of skill in the art can appreciate that the location where thebuffer is accessed and replayed can be configured in a variety ofdifferent ways.

In another embodiment, the device improves a quality of the bufferedvoice data by replacing missing or dropped packets. Voice data receivedby a device may be missing packets, for example. These missing packetscan be requested and when all or some of the packets are received, theyare inserted into the appropriate places in the buffered voice data.Thus, the buffered voice data is more complete and can be more easilyunderstood by a recipient.

In another embodiment, the buffered voice data may be saved to localmemory on the device for access at a later time. In the case where therecipient is not aware that an instant connect call is incoming, thedevice can be configured to save a specified amount of the bufferedvoice data. For example, if the recipient does not use the talk orreplay button within a preset amount of time, the device can interpretthis to mean that the recipient is otherwise occupied and is unable toaccess the incoming voice data and the buffered voice data at thepresent time. Once this determination has been made, the device canredirect the buffered voice data to longer term memory on the devicewhere it can be accessed when the recipient again becomes available. Inthis manner, the recipient can know that a sender has attempted to reachhim or her, and the recipient can listen to the sender's saved voicedata to hear the nature of the instant connect call.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. Thefeatures and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained bymeans of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out inthe appended claims. These and other features of the invention willbecome more fully apparent from the following description and appendedclaims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forthhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the manner in which the advantages and features of theinvention are obtained, a particular description of the invention willbe rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not, thereforeintended to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will bedescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless network in which thenetwork-based instant connect communication systems of the invention maybe practiced;

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a device that both buffers voicedata and plays voice data such that the buffered voice data can beplayed back by the recipient;

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment where the buffered voice data is playedback during an instant connect call in a manner that prevents the userfrom missing any voice data; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment where the quality of the buffered voicedata is improved before or during playback of the buffered voice data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Network-based instant connect communication enables users to communicateusing wireless or wireline networks in ways that mimic and exhibit manyof the advantageous features of walkie-talkie communication.Network-based instant connect communications or calls can be one-to-onecalls or one-to-many calls. To place an instant connect call, a sendertypically identifies a recipient or a group of recipients on the contactlist resident on the sender's wireless device. The sender next pushes atalk button or otherwise causes the wireless device to initiate aninstant connect call to the recipient. Conventional instant connectcalls are conducted in such a way that once the session is established,the recipient's device decodes and reproduces the sender's voice data.

Embodiments of the invention relate to systems and methods forselectively replaying the received voice data. Advantageously, arecipient device replays voice data without missing new voice data thatmay be subsequently sent to the recipient's device. In other words,while previously received voice data is being replayed, new voice datais stored so that the recipient is assured of being able to listen tothe new voice data. In addition, the voice data can be replayed in amanner that enables the recipient to catch-up with an ongoing instantconnect communication. In one embodiment, a recipient is able to reviewor replay statements made by a sender without having to go through theprocess of obtaining the floor and requesting that the sender repeathimself or herself.

Embodiments of the invention also improve the quality of the voice databeing replayed by the recipient's device. For example, the receivingserver acknowledges the data packets in a voice stream. If packets aremissing, the server can resend them, either in response to a request orautomatically. The voice data being received is still played, but if thebuffer is accessed and the voice stream listened to again, the qualitymay be significantly improved. Similarly, this process can occur over apeer-to-peer connection. For example, there may be a direct,peer-to-peer connection between two or more wireless devices. Areceiving wireless device may request missing packets from a sendingdevice; in this case a server is not participating in the process. Inyet another embodiment, the recipient's device may determine that therecipient is unavailable for an instant connect call, and the bufferedvoice data is then automatically transferred to longer term memory onthe device for access at a later time.

1. Instant Connect Communication Networks

In order to describe the various methods of the invention, FIG. 1illustrates an example of network 100 in which the invention can bepracticed. It is to be understood that the network of FIG. 1 representsonly an example of the suitable environments in which embodiments of theinvention can be implemented, and that other network architectures,including wireline networks or combinations of wireless and wirelinenetworks, are possible. Network 100 includes one or more wirelesstelephone networks that operate with network-based instant connectdevices 102 and 104. In the illustrated example, device 102 operateswithin cellular network 200 a, while device 104 operates within cellularnetwork 200 b.

FIG. 1 illustrates base station 106 in cellular network 200 a thatcommunicates with network-based instant connect device 102 bytransmitting and receiving radio signals 108. Base stations 106 andother base stations in network 200 a operate over respective regions orcells within which the radio signals 108 are sufficiently strong toprovide reliable communication. In cellular networks, a grid ofpartially overlapping cells is positioned in a geographic area toprovide service for the network-based instant connect devices anywherein the range of the cells. Base station 106 may operate under thecontrol of associated base station controllers 112, which may in turn becoupled with a packet data serving node (PDSN) 116. Base station 106 mayalso be coupled with a mobile switching center 114, which enables device102 to communicate with the public switched telephone network (PSTN)130.

In network 100 of FIG. 1, network-based instant connect device 102 mayacquire radio connectivity and IP network connectivity in a manner wellknown in the art. For example, device 102 may issue an originationrequest to mobile switching center 114, which may send the request backto BSC 112. BSC 112 may assign a traffic channel to device 102, or itmight forward the request to PDSN 116, which works with device 102 toestablish a data link by which voice and data is transmitted to andreceived from the device. Device 102 may then initiate and participatein network-based instant connect communication sessions with theassistance of a PDSN 116, which provides device 102 with a gateway to IPnetwork 118. The voice data from device 102 is then delivered to anetwork-based instant connect application server 120, which among otherfunctionality, may be responsible for arbitrating and managing floorcontrol allocation or voice data transmission.

Alternatively, rather than floor control being arbitrated by a networkelement such as an instant connect application server, the logic toimplement floor control allocation may be resident on the network-basedinstant connect device, in which case the participating devices decidewho controls the floor. In FIG. 1, since the other network-based instantconnect device 104 is located within the range of a cellular network 200b, the base station controller 212 and associated PDSN 210 are used toestablish the communication between the devices 102 and 104.Network-based instant connect device 104 acquires radio connectivity andIP network connectivity with the assistance of the associated BSC 212and PDSN 210 as described previously. In this way, the network-basedinstant connect devices 102 and 104 can communicate with substantiallyany other compatible network-based instant connect devices that arelocated in the interoperating cellular networks, such as networks 200 a,200 b, etc.

It should be understood that this and other arrangements and processesdescribed herein are set forth for purposes of example only, and otherarrangements and elements (e.g., machines, interfaces, functions, ordersof elements, etc.) can be added or used instead and some elements may beomitted altogether. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat many of the elements described herein are functional entities thatmay be implemented as discrete components or in conjunction with othercomponents, in any suitable combination and location, and by software,firmware and/or hardware.

Network-based instant connect calls in network 100 are designed to givethe calling parties an experience similar to those that are associatedwith the use of a conventional or personal walkie-talkie. Network-basedinstant connect devices 102 and 104 have “talk buttons” 202 and 204,respectively. The talk buttons are used to initiate the transmission ofvoice data from the corresponding network-based instant connect devices.In general, network-based instant connect calls are initiated when theuser selects a recipient from the contact list on a wireless device andpresses the talk button. Conventional network-based instant connectcalls are received as the receiving device is automatically activatedand caused to decode and reproduce the incoming voice data withoutrequiring the recipient to expressly accept the call by manuallyresponding to a ring or other indicator of an incoming call.

Although the cellular networks 200 a and 200 b on which network-basedinstant connect calls are carried inherently have full-duplexcapabilities, network-based instant connect calls are transmitted usinghalf-duplex communication so as to mimic the walkie-talkie experience.The use of half-duplex communication means that data can travel in onlyone direction at any given time. In order to indicate to the system inwhich direction voice data should be sent, network-based instant connectdevices 102 and 104 may utilize a talk button or other user inputmechanism which causes a floor request signal to be generated. Thedevice that has the floor has the ability to transmit voice data,whereas the device that does not have the floor can only receive thedata. The invention, however, can be practiced in conjunction withmethods that enable the party without the floor to reassign the floorand initiate the transmission of voice data without waiting for theremote party to relinquish the floor.

These methods can be performed in existing cellular networks (e.g.,networks 200 a and 200 b) that have network-based instant connectcapabilities as well as with existing network-based instant connectdevices that have been adapted to perform the acts disclosed herein.Examples of such methods are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/652,867, filed Aug. 29, 2003, entitled “Floor Control Managementin Network-Based Instant Connect Communication,” which is incorporatedherein by reference.

2. Selectively Replaying Voice Data in an Instant Connect Call

FIG. 2 illustrates wireless devices that selectively replay voice data.The device 250, in this example, is a sender device that initiates aninstant connect call with the device 260. The device 250 transmits voicedata 252 to the device 260. During normal operation of the instantconnect call, the voice data 252 is received by the device 260 and theplayback module 266 performs the necessary operations to immediatelyplay the voice data 252 to the recipient. The devices 250, 260 canselectively replay voice data while engaged in an instant connect call.One advantage of selectively replaying voice data is that the device 260does not have to obtain the floor from the device 250 in order torequest that the sender repeat himself or herself.

In this embodiment, the voice data 252 is also buffered in a voice databuffer 262. The voice data 252 is thus being played by the playbackmodule 266 and buffered in the voice data buffer 262 simultaneously. Thevoice data buffer 262 is typically embodied as a temporary buffer andmay only store a limited amount of voice data. For example, the voicedata buffer 262 may be configured to store 15 seconds of voice data.Once the voice data buffer is full, the oldest voice data is replacedwith the newest voice data. One of skill in the art can appreciate thatthe size of the voice data buffer can vary considerably and that thesize of the voice data buffer determines how much voice data can bebuffered. In some embodiments, a recipient may be able to permanentlystore a portion of the voice data buffer. However, the voice data bufferis typically used as a temporary storage that enables a recipient ofvoice data to listen to the recent statements of the senders in theinstant connect call. Thus, the voice data buffer may be cleared when aninstant connect call terminates or within a predetermined time after theinstant connect call ends.

The device 260 includes a replay button 264 that can be used toselectively play voice data from the voice data buffer 262. The replaybutton 264 can be implemented in a variety of different ways. The replaybutton 264, for example, may be an independent button on the device 260or may share functionality with another button on the device 260. Thus,the recipient can invoke different functions depending on how the replaybutton 264 is configured or pressed.

When the recipient depresses the replay button, the playback module 266stops playing the voice data 252 being received. The playback module 266accesses the voice data buffer 262 and replays the buffered voice data.While the buffered voice data is being played, the device 260 continuesto buffer additional voice data 252 that is being received such that therecipient does not miss any portion of the incoming voice data.Advantageously, the recipient does not have to wait for the sender torelinquish the floor or interrupt the sender to ask the sender to repeathis or her statement. In addition, because incoming voice data is beingcontinuously buffered, even while a replay activity is occurring, therecipient is able to listen to all of the sender's voice data.

When the playback module 266 begins playing voice data from the voicedata buffer 262, the voice data buffer 262 can be accessed in differentways. For example, the voice data buffer 262 may be accessed at thepoint that corresponds to the oldest voice data. This enables therecipient to replay all of the buffered voice data. Alternatively, therecipient may desire to access the voice data in time increments orintervals. After the replay button has been depressed, the playbackmodule begins playing voice data that is, for instance, five secondsold. By pressing the replay button a second time or by any other input,the playback module may access the voice data an additional 5 secondsinto the past. While in a replay mode, the replay button 264 or anotherkey on the device 260 may be configured to back up additional intervalsinto the buffered voice data. Each time the relevant key is pressed inthe replay mode, older voice data is accessed. The size of the voicedata buffer 262 may limit how far back into a call a recipient can go,however. In another embodiment, the voice data buffer can be accessed bystatement or by sender. This may ensure that the replayed voice dataoccurs from the beginning of a particular sender's voice data. In thisexample, each statement typically corresponds to the voice datatransmitted by a sender while that sender has the floor of the instantconnect call.

As previously stated, the voice data 252 is continually being bufferedby the device 260. This ensures that the recipient is able to listen tothe entire instant connect call even when in replay mode. In someembodiments, the voice data buffer can be increased dynamically toaccount for instances when the recipient repeatedly depresses the replaybutton. Alternatively, the voice data that can be replayed at a giveninstant in time decreases because newer voice data may be replacing theolder voice data in the voice data buffer.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 also has the ability to improve thebuffered voice data as illustrated by the voice data 254. Often, voicedata is transmitted over an IP network using User Datagram Protocol(UDP). UDP is a connection-less protocol that provides little errorrecovery. Packets are simply sent over the network with no guaranteethat they will arrive at the destination. In this embodiment, the voicedata 254 includes packets 256 and 258. In particular, the packets 256represent packets of the voice data 254 that arrive at the device 260and the packets 258 represent dropped or lost packets from the voicedata 254.

As previously stated, the playback module 266 decodes and plays thepackets that it receives as soon as they are received. From therecipient's perspective, the voice data 254 may be difficult tounderstand because of the dropped packets 258. In this embodiment,however, the voice data 254 is also buffered in the voice data buffer262. Initially, the voice data 254 stored in the voice data buffer 262is missing the same dropped packets 258. The buffer control 261 mayrecognize that packets have been dropped or are missing from the voicedata 254 and thus request that a network server such as the instantconnect application server or the PDSN, a sending wireless device, oranother suitable source resend either the complete voice data 254 and/orthe dropped packets 258. The resent data packets of voice data 254and/or dropped packets 258 have a sequence number and when they areresent to the device 260, the buffer control 261 can ensure that theyare placed in the voice data buffer 262 in the appropriate location. Inthis manner, the buffer control 261 can improve the quality of thebuffered voice data in this embodiment.

Thus, when the recipient first hears the voice data 254, the recipientmay not be able to understand the voice data 254 because of the lost ordropped packets 258 and the voice data may be unintelligible. When therecipient depresses the replay button 264, the buffer control 261 mayhave had time to request the dropped packets and include the droppedpackets in the voice data buffer 262. As a result, the quality of thebuffered voice data may be better than the voice data that wasoriginally played to the recipient. If the buffer control 261 does nothave time to replace the dropped packets, then buffered voice isreplayed to the recipient as it was originally buffered. The buffercontrol 261 can continue to request missing packets even when the device260 is in a replay mode. In addition to the methods for buffering thevoice data locally and requesting the missing packets, the inventionalso extends to methods performed at a network server or an applicationserver to buffer the packets and to respond to requests for the missingpackets.

In one embodiment, the device 260 can delay replaying the buffered voicedata until sufficient packets are received. In this case, however, newvoice data is still being buffered to ensure that the recipient is ableto listen to all of the voice data. Often, the device 260 can takeadvantage of silences in the instant connect call to improve the qualityof the buffered voice data.

FIG. 3 illustrates a timeline of voice data and buffered voice data froma perspective of a recipient's device. FIG. 3 illustrates an examplewhere a recipient is receiving voice data from three different senders:A, B, and C. The voice data 300 is received at the device as follows.Voice data 302 from sender A is received at the device of the recipientand is followed by a silence 304. Voice data 306 a from sender B is thenreceived and is followed by a silence 308. The silence 308 is followedby voice data 310 a from sender C, a silence 312, voice data 314 a fromsender A and a silence 313. The voice data 300 thus illustrates atypical instant connect call that plays voice data that is received fromone or more senders. The voice data 300 is buffered as previouslydescribed.

When the replay button is depressed or otherwise activated, the voicedata buffer is accessed at a predetermined point. In this example, thebuffered voice data 320 represents the voice data that is played fromthe recipient's device when the replay button is depressed. At instant307 in the voice data 300 of the instant connect call, the recipientdepresses or activates the replay button. The buffered voice data isaccessed and played from the beginning of the voice data of sender B. Inthis example, the buffered voice data begins playing from the beginningof the voice data 306 a from sender B. More specifically, the bufferedvoice data 306 b is being replayed to the recipient. Next, the bufferedvoice data 310 b from the sender C is played and is followed by thebuffered voice data 314 b from the sender A.

In this example, the buffered voice data 320 does not include thesilences that typically occur in a normal instant connect call. In otherwords, the silences that occur between senders in an instant connectcall are not typically buffered. The recipient's device or buffercontrol can recognize when voice data is present and when it is notpresent. The instant connect call is effectively time compressed byeliminating the silences. This enables the recipient's device to playthe buffered voice data call faster than the instant connect calloccurred in real-time. In this example, at instant 316, the bufferedvoice data 320 has caught up to the real-time voice data during thesilence 313. Because the replay of the buffered voice data has caught upto the new voice data being received, the recipient's device can revertback to playing the voice data being received at the recipient's device.The recipient's device continues to buffer the voice data as describedabove.

The recipient has a choice of whether the recipient wants to hear theentire conversation, or just what others have said. In a preferredembodiment, the recipient's voice is not played, thus furtheraccelerating the replay timeline.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment where the buffered voice data isimproved by replacing dropped or missing packets. The voice data 406 afrom sender B includes packets 410 that are delivered over an IPnetwork. As previously stated, voice data packets may be dropped duringtransmission and the voice data received by a device may not include allof the packets that were sent. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 4by the dropped packets 412.

The device of the recipient can recognize when voice data is incomplete.The device can then request of a network server or a peer device thatthe dropped packets be resent or that the entire segment of voice databe resent. The packets received in response to this request from theclient are inserted in the buffered voice data at appropriate locations.Thus, the buffered voice data 406 b from sender B typically includes atleast some of the packets 422 that were dropped in the originaltransmission of voice data as illustrated by the dropped packets.

When the recipient depresses the replay button at instant 407, thebuffered voice data 406 b that is played from the voice data buffer ofthe recipient's device is more clear due to the packets that have beenadded or replaced. The recipient's device can request the droppedpackets as the voice data is buffered, when the user depresses thereplay button, or any other suitable time.

As voice data is replayed from the voice data buffer, the recipient alsohas various options. The recipient, for example, can cause the bufferedvoice data to be replayed at a faster rate. While removing the silencesthat typically occur in instant connect calls from the buffered voicedata ensures that the recipient will catch up to real-time, replayingthe buffered voice data at a faster rate enables the recipient to catchthe real-time instant connect call more quickly. Additionally, therecipient may also have the ability to simply skip back to the real-timevoice data.

In one embodiment, the status of the selectively replayed voice data isdisplayed to the recipient via the display of the device. For instance,the display may indicate that buffered voice data is being played,identify the sender corresponding to the buffered voice data beingplayed, indicate a rate at which the buffered voice data is beingplayed, display when the replay of the buffered voice data will catchthe real-time or near real-time voice data being buffered, and the likeor any combination thereof.

The display may also indicate buttons that may be used to alter how thebuffered voice data is replayed. For instance, one button may change therate at which the buffered voice data is replayed. Another button mayenable the recipient to skip to the next sender or statement in thebuffered voice data. The display can also identify which sender isassociated with the voice data being replayed and update thisinformation as the sender changes.

Other buttons or soft keys on the recipient's device can be used forother functions related to the buffered voice data. A first button or abutton tap, for example, may skip ahead one phrase to the next silence,stop the playback of the buffered voice data, erase the voice databuffer, jump to real-time and the like. Alternatively, jumping toreal-time can occur if the listener begins to talk, or requests thefloor. A second button may save the buffered voice data as a voicemessage on the device for future playback. In this case, the bufferedvoice data that is converted to a voice message is stored in permanentmemory of the device instead of the voice data buffer. This enables therecipient to store, for instance, an important part of an instantconnect call. The voice message may be represented in and accessed froma message Inbox on the wireless device.

In addition, an incoming network-based instant connect call can beautomatically saved to a local memory on the recipient device if therecipient fails to respond to or participate in the incoming call. Asnoted above, if the recipient fails to actively participate in theinstant connect call by, for example, failing to depress the talk orreplay buttons, at least a portion of the buffered voice data istransferred to a more permanent local memory for storage. The storedportion of the voice data can be later accessed by the recipient so thatthe recipient can learn the nature of the missed instant connect call.Details of suitable methods of buffering voice data of a network-basedinstant connect call are found in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/672,579, filed Sep. 25, 2003, which is incorporated herein byreference. The methods of the foregoing application can be used inconnection with the buffering methods disclosed herein to store voicedata associated with a missed network-based instant connect call.

For illustrative purposes, the foregoing embodiments use the methodsdisclosed herein in conjunction with network-based instant connectcommunication. However, the scope of the invention is not so limited.Other embodiments provide for buffering voice data and selectivelyreplaying voice data during conventional, full-duplex wireline andwireless telephone calls. For example, the base and handset of arecipient's cordless telephone may be suitably equipped to beginbuffering voice data when a telephone call is received. As previouslydescribed, the recipient may become subject to unanticipatedenvironmental noise or may be otherwise unable to properly hear thespeaker. By using one or more keys on the telephone handset, therecipient may replay the buffered voice data rather than asking thespeaker to repeat himself. The base of the telephone may be equippedwith longer term memory in order to store buffered voice data for lateraccess. Similarly, the methods of the invention may be applied to arecipient's mobile telephone or other telephony-enabled wireless deviceto buffer the voice data of a conventional, full-duplex, wireless voicecommunication.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodimentsare to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and notrestrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changesthat come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims areto be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a server that operates in acommunication network in which communication sessions are establishedbetween communications devices, the server configured to: during acommunication session of a connectionless protocol, simultaneouslytransmit packets of voice data via the communications network from asender communications device to a recipient communications device andbuffering the packets of the voice data at the server such that thebuffered packets can be resent upon receipt of an appropriate request;receive a request for missing packets from the recipient communicationsdevice, the request having been sent from the recipient communicationsdevice in response to the recipient communications device determiningthat at least some of the packets are missing and receiving input from arecipient requesting the voice data to be replayed at the recipientcommunications device; and in response to the request for the missingpackets, sending the missing packets to the recipient communicationsdevice, such that the missing packets are then able to be combined withthe previously transmitted packets to enable the recipientcommunications device to replay the voice data, which subsequentlyincludes the missing packets, until the voice data associated with themissing packets catches up to voice data being received at the recipientcommunications device in real time, whereupon the recipientcommunications device can then resume playing the voice data beingreceived at the recipient communications device.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the server comprises one of a network server and anapplication server.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the missingpackets received from the server are added to packets stored in a localbuffer of the recipient communications device.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein buffering the packets of the voice data by the server comprises:buffering packets of voice data of a first sender in the buffer; andbuffering packets of voice data of one or more subsequent senders in thebuffer, wherein a silence between the first sender and the one or moresubsequent senders is not stored in the buffer.
 5. The system of claim1, further comprising having the server access the buffer based on apre-determined time period in response to receiving a request, such thatthe missing packets can then be sent to the recipient communicationsdevice.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising having the serveraccess the buffer based on a particular sender in response to receivinga request, such that the missing packets can then be sent to therecipient communications device.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinhaving the sever send the missing packets to the recipientcommunications device is performed such that a portion of the voice datafrom a point in the buffer that corresponds to a beginning of a voicedata segment of a particular sender can be replayed at the recipientcommunications device.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein having thesever send the missing packets to the recipient device is performed suchthat a portion of the voice data from a point in the buffer thatcorresponds to a time period can be replayed at the recipientcommunications device.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein having thesever send the missing packets to the recipient communications device isperformed such that the voice data in the buffer can be stopped frombeing played; and voice data being received at the recipientcommunications device can resume playing.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein having the sever send the missing packets to the recipientcommunications device is performed such that the voice data in thebuffer at a different location can be accessed so as to replay anotherselected portion of the buffered voice data at the recipientcommunications device.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the server isfurther configured to buffer voice data that is received at the serverwhile receiving input from the recipient communications device.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to deletethe voice data in the buffer when the communication session terminates.13. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is further configured todelete the voice data in the buffer a pre-determined period of timeafter the communication session terminates.
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein at least one communications device participating in thecommunication session is associated with a circuit-switched network. 15.The system of claim 1, wherein the server is associated with a packetdata network.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the server isassociated with RF communication techniques.
 17. The system of claim 1,wherein the communication session is associated with a network-basedinstant connect call established over a packet data network.
 18. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein: the network-based instant connect call hasbeen missed by the recipient communication device when the network-basedinstant connect call was initially transmitted; and having the serversend the missing packets to the recipient communications device isperformed such that the missed network-based instant connect call can beaccessed at the recipient communications device.